Question

5 In-Ceiling Speakers for all

  • 17 August 2020
  • 5 replies
  • 540 views

My new home living room is 15’ x 20’ and 10’ high

The ceiling has been pre-holed and pre-wired for 5 speakers (3 ceiling holes near the Tv and 2 in back)

The Tv will be the new LG GX frame model and a Sonos Arc or Beam would not be suitable on the wall.

All the sound will be coming from the 5 ceiling speakers and I’d also like to use the speakers for stereo music listening, when not watching TV.

I plan on purchasing:

5 InCeiling Sonance

1 Sonos Amp

Questions:

  1. Will the TV sound right (especially dialogue) without a Sonos Arc or Beam?
  2. Will I get stereo sound with a 5 speaker array or does the center speaker have to be turned off?

Do you have any other suggestions?


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5 replies

Hey melvimbe,

there will be shelving both on the right and left side of the TV wall (but that would not be useful for a center speaker placement

Any placement of speakers below the TV is prohibited because of the proximity to a fireplace, I can only go above he TV

I’m giving up and will call in an audio specialist to figure this out, I will also make the suggestion you offered , Thanks

Thanks John B + Melvimbe

That's what I was afraid of hearing with the pre-cut 5 ceiling hole setup I was tempted to do the wrong thing. TV dialogue would be a disaster,

So I must cancel the 3 front in-ceiling holes and purchase the Arc which unfortunately can only be placed above the Tv and at a height of 6’+ and I will purchase 2 rear in-ceiling speakers with the 1 Sonos amp.

Is it a problem for the Arc to be placed a few inches above the TV at the 6” height?

 

Yes, it will sound better than coming from the ceiling, but not ideal.  Atmos speaker effect might not work properly.  

 

I love Sonos, but it’s value is mostly in whole home audio and situations where wireless is needed.  This doesn’t seem to be what you need, since you are talking about a single room and can wire all speakers.  Why not go with a traditional AV setup?  You can use a Port if you want to integrate the audio with other Sonos rooms.  Is there no way to place speakers in or on the TV wall?  Do you have access to place speakers on the wall behind seating area?

Thanks John B + Melvimbe

That's what I was afraid of hearing with the pre-cut 5 ceiling hole setup I was tempted to do the wrong thing. TV dialogue would be a disaster,

So I must cancel the 3 front in-ceiling holes and purchase the Arc which unfortunately can only be placed above the Tv and at a height of 6’+ and I will purchase 2 rear in-ceiling speakers with the 1 Sonos amp.

Is it a problem for the Arc to be placed a few inches above the TV at the 6” height?

In a home theater setup, the Sonos amp can only handle the front channels, with Left and right and a phantom center channel.  That mean you can’t have a physical center channel and you will need a second amp for the two rear channels.  

As for your questions, agree with John that this isn’t not going to sound right for TV audio. IMO, there is no point in having a 5.1 system if you aren’t going to have sound coming from the right locations.  If you can’t place the speakers on the wall near the TV, then I would just go with stereo speakers in the ceiling.  You can manage that with one amp.  Your second question is irrelevant since there is no center channel with the Sonos amp.

Hi. Tbh, my purely  personal opinion would be don't use ceiling speakers for TV sound. Fine for non-directional backgriund music, but ....